A Fan’s History, Episode 12: More Fanspeak
What the heck is a “slanshack”?
The Clubhouse: Looking for fandom — ConFusion at 40, Part 4
Wherefore fandom? Fandom does not equal “the science fiction market.” To be a fan it’s not enough just to be a consumer of science fiction. To be part of fandom you have to participate in fandom as a community. You have to interact with other fans. You have to do fannish things. You cannot be […]
The Clubhouse: Five words every fan should know
“I have a Cosmic Mind — now what do I do?” Fanspeak is what we call the jargon of fandom that grew up in fanzines and is still in use in the internet age. It’s full of terms that apply to sf, often taken from the pages of novels and stories, as well as words […]
The Clubhouse: Common language
I said last time that I wasn’t going to debate the definition of “fan” here. But one of the most important defining characteristics of fandom is our shared language. From founding fan Forrest J Ackerman on, fen have delighted in neologisms, and, of course, language helps to define a culture. We all use a great […]
